


Camilla in the Underworld

by fawatson



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 13:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11418813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fawatson/pseuds/fawatson
Summary: Camilla of the Volsci adjusts to Elysium and Elysium adjusts to her.





	Camilla in the Underworld

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** I would read any amount of words about Camilla and her female warrior buddies! (That could be gen or femslash, as you like.) I also love the story about her childhood, with her father throwing her across the river on a spear and how he started teaching her to use weapons as soon as she could walk, so I'd be happy to read more about that. I also like that she and Turnus have a mutually respectful relationship, that he trusts her in battle like it's no big deal (I'm thinking of their exchange at XI.498 and following), and that she sends a message to him when she's dying (XI.823). I'd be happy to read about the two of them hanging out (Juturna would be welcome also!) and talking about armour or battle or hunting or things like that.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters and make no profit by them. 
> 
> **Apology:** This is a replacement story. The first story I wrote unintentionally offended because it included something on the recipient's 'do not want' list (infidelity), and he/she refused the gift. The Mod kindly contacted me to point out my error and I have amended the original story. However, nobody should be left with that kind of 'bad taste in the mouth' feeling that getting a story which includes a specified DNW leaves. So I have written this story and I hope it pleases. Once again, I am sorry for the distress the first story caused to my recipient and I want to thank the Mod for pointing the problem out to me.

Few women met the eligibility requirements for the Fortunate Isles. Camilla had expected to be in a minority; she was used to that. But this was ridiculous! When she first arrived she had been pointed in the direction of Hypermnestra. But after that she had been largely ignored. The men here, heroes all, were respectful of her right to be in this place, but Ancient men and women’s pursuits were normally very separate. They did not fight together. The heroes honoured her in the only way they knew how: by leaving her alone. Camilla quickly found she had little in common with Hypermnestra, heroine though she might be. In life Camilla had encouraged other women to take up arms and her bodyguard had all been fighting women, many of whom had died in her defence. None of them had arrived with her in Elysium. Like most women in Ancient times, Camilla had never been alone. Nor, as a Queen, had she lived a solitary life. She simply was not used to being on her own. “I _need_ my friends” muttered Camilla one day as she looked at herself in the mirror while fixing her hair. She realised she was increasingly lonely.

Plus, Elysium offered little in the way of everyday occupation. The men practiced amongst themselves but Camilla had no one to spar with. Some men – those heroes who had left their day-to-day life for some quest or to fight in battle – were able to return to their former occupation and enjoyed the peace and quiet of fishing, or farming, or herding sheep. _Her_ former occupation had been Queen; there was no land to rule here. Elysium had proven rather dull.

So, Camilla petitioned Rhadamanthus for transfer. She waited a long time for a response (in fact had pretty much given it up for a lost cause) when finally he came to find her. She had been for a swim and was sitting beside Oceanus, combing her hair when he sat down beside her.

“There is no precedent for this,” Rhadamanthus explained, as he gently refused her petition. “All the other heroes are happy here; why can’t you just be like them?”

She shook her head impatiently. “Do I look like them?”

Solemnly, Rhadamanthus shook his head.

“ _I_ didn’t ask to come here,” Camilla pointed out. “And I am no criminal. I’ve not been convicted of anything – far from it: I am a heroine, lauded in song and story. I should be able to go wherever I will.” 

__“Except the land of the living,” Rhadamanthus pointed out, “you are _dead_ after all.” _ _

__“I haven’t asked to go back to life,” Camilla asked in a reasonable tone, “just to be allowed to check out the other realms of the dead.”_ _

__“But they are terrible places, my dear. I do not like to think of you going there,” he said. “You are a heroine and were judged accordingly; your place is reserved here.”_ _

__“Then _un_ reserve it,” Camilla retorted, “and find me somewhere else to stay because this boring blessed isle is decidedly hellish from my perspective.” _ _

__Unable to answer, Rhadamanthus left quietly, but he was troubled. The inhabitants of Elysium were supposed to be happy. Yet all too obviously, Camilla was anything but, which must mean Elysium was not meant for her, no matter how much of a heroine she had been in life. He retired to his study where he took down, from the top shelf, his massive scrolls that compiled and codified all known laws of man. It took him many months to read through, searching for an answer. It was not there._ _

__He returned to the shores of Oceanus the next afternoon and stood for a long time watching Queen Camilla as she frolicked in the great river. She clearly was keeping busy. Last time she had simply sat on a rock; now a comfortable villa overlooked a magnificent view and there was a small boat tied to a landing point. But she did not look happy, though…looks could be deceiving._ _

__When he asked, her answer was not reassuring._ _

__“Why would I be any happier now than on your last visit?” She sounded decidedly waspish. (Unhappiness tends to do that to people.)_ _

__“People do adjust,” he suggested gently, “given sufficient time.”_ _

__“Time – huh!” Camilla scoffed. “Yes, well, I’ve been thinking about this. After all, I’ve had the _time_ to think.” _ _

__“And…?”_ _

__“I realised I never had any choices before. I mean – I was dedicated to Diana as a _baby_. My destiny was mapped out for me as long as I could remember.” _ _

__“Even before you could think, yes,” Rhadamanthus nodded in understanding._ _

__“However, death severs all bonds,” Camilla explained, “so for the first time, I am without purpose.”_ _

__“I follow,” Rhadamanthus said slowly._ _

__“I lived all my life with purpose, one not of my choosing perhaps, but nonetheless, purpose. Now I exist aimlessly, without honour or reason for my existence.”_ _

__“And you think being elsewhere will change that?” Rhadamanthus sighed. “My dear, honour comes from within; one carries it with oneself where one goes. The externals mean nothing; they are mere geography.”_ _

__“Then if they are worth so little _let me go_.”_ _

__Rhadamanthus returned to his study where he unlocked the cabinet that contained all the laws of the gods. And a more confusing and contradictory bunch of laws I never have seen in all my born days, he thought, rubbing his brow tiredly after several months of study. Once again, he had not found the answer to the problem posed by Camilla’s petition._ _

__This time he found her shooting arrows with Cupid. They were surrounded by the pantheon of gods, all betting on the outcome of the contest. Heroes might keep their distance from Camilla; but the gods found her good company._ _

__“Could she join Diana in the heavens?” Rhadamanthus asked Jupiter as the contest drew to a close. “After all, she was beloved of the Huntress in life – why not ride with her in death?”_ _

__“Definitely not,” Jupiter was adamant. “Heroine she may be, but she is also dead and the dead belong in the Underworld. _Gods_ belong in the heavens.” _ _

__He conveniently ignored his own presence (not to mention those of the rest of the pantheon) there that day. Humbly, Rhadamanthus pointed it out, doing his best to argue for the unhappiest inhabitant of Elysium ._ _

__“We’re just visiting,” said Jupiter shortly, and he pocketed his winnings and leapt high to grab a passing thundercloud and was off._ _

__Rhadamanthus explained Jupiter’s decision to Camilla, who was incensed._ _

__“He just won all that gold betting on me and he cannot even see me and hear me out before passing summary judgement!” She glowered at Rhadamanthus who retreated hastily._ _

__The next morning placards appeared, placed strategically at the main gathering places of Elysium; Rhadamanthus found a small scroll on his breakfast table._ _

__“Down with Tyranny!” it proclaimed and it called for a free vote amongst all citizens of the Underworld. “Choose Your Own Ruler – Make Your Own Laws! ”_ _

__Rhadamanthus walked out amongst his people, watching and listening as they discussed the mysterious posters, before he made his way to Camilla._ _

__“It won’t work, my dear,” he said. “Yours is a lone voice crying in the wilderness.”_ _

__“Every majority starts with a minority of one,” she countered._ _

__“What does that even mean?” asked Rhadamanthus plaintively._ _

__“Just think about it,” she challenged, “and while you are thinking, remember: Harmodius and Aristogeiton reside in Elysium and you are the judge who decided they should be here.”_ _

__“Is it an Athenian democracy you want?” asked Rhadamanthus. He was clearly very puzzled. “But women in Athens never had the vote. And the democracy failed. Why would you want that?”_ _

__“I want the choice of my own destiny and purpose decided by me,” said Camilla, “ _not_ Jupiter, who didn’t even have the courtesy to talk to me.” _ _

__“I think you forget, few really choose their own destiny,” said Rhadamanthus sadly. “Most people just get what they’re given and have to accept it.” He walked away, shaking his head, reflecting privately it seemed he would have to get used to Camilla as much as she had to get used to Elysium._ _

__A public debate was held, in which, all too clearly, the heroes opposing Camilla felt considerable sympathy for her position. When the audience voted she lost, but only by a whisker. As Achilles and Hector pointed out to Rhadamanthus: they might like sparring with one another but think of all the alternative matches they might have, if only they could travel a little further afield. Loyalty to tradition could only last so long._ _

__A deeply troubled Rhadamanthus consulted with his brother Minos._ _

__“We can always swap roles again,” Minos offered. “It’s not as if you haven’t judged in Tartarus before.” Privately, he’d always thought his brother devised more imaginative punishments than any he’d imposed. However, listening to screams and groans told on a man after a while, especially a gentle soul like his brother, no matter how wedded to truth and justice he may be. It was why Minos and Rhadamanthus periodically exchanged duties. Perhaps it was time to shift again._ _

__Rhadamanthus shook his head. “That is the heart of the problem,” he admitted. “ _We_ can change where we live; the heroes cannot. I have no problem denying Sisyphus release; he is meant to be punished, and as for Tantalus – well!” Minos nodded his agreement. “But there is truth to Camilla’s argument that she has done nothing to contravene the laws of man or god, yet her liberty has been taken away as if she were a criminal, which is a wrong done to her.” _ _

__“Heroes are supposed to _want_ to be in Elysium; they’re not supposed to want to go somewhere else. Have you tried telling her that?” asked Minos. _ _

__Rhadamanthus shrugged, “Perhaps the problem is she’s a heroine, not a hero. We haven’t had a lot of experience of those. The men just seem to accept it’s better to live in the Elysian Fields than anywhere else; but she…but she…,” he sighed deeply before finishing, “questions.”_ _

__“If she had a tour?” Minos suggested, “Would she see the benefit in staying in Elysium if she saw how the rest of the shades live? That silver coin for Charon only goes so far.”_ _

__Rhadamanthus shrugged again. He had started to wonder if anything would help, but he supposed taking a little day trip might be worth a try._ _

__This time it was Minos who sought out Camilla. He found her sharpening her knife with a whetstone. She gave him a sharp glance before bending again to her task._ _

__He waited patiently knowing sooner or later she’d have to look up again, but, when she continued assiduously to ignore him, he finally interrupted her._ _

__“Surely someone else could do that for you.”_ _

__“Who would you suggest - servants? There are none. This is Elysium, remember: only heroes allowed. Besides, I need to do _something_ to keep busy; and it’s honest work.”_ _

__“My brother and I have been discussing your predicament,” he began, “and we thought….” His voice trailed off at her withering look._ _

__“You mean _your_ predicament,” Camilla challenged, “caused solely by your unreasonable and unlawful imprisonment of me in this benighted place, and the consequent loss of respect its inhabitants – the heroes – feel for you now that your tyranny is uncovered.”_ _

__“Well…hmmm….”_ _

__Minos began to understand why Rhadamanthus had looked so rattled. He wondered if Demosthenes had somehow snuck into Elysium when his brother’s back was turned and been coaching her. Was it not so much that Elysium was wrong for her, and more just that someone not meant to be here had crossed the border of the Fortunate Isles and, weak-minded female that she was, she had fallen prey to his rhetoric? Milos put that thought to one side to pursue later; he and his brother judge had decided what to do and, for now, their course was set._ _

__Minos persisted. “We thought to offer you a little trip, just a short excursion, to…the _other_ side.”_ _

__“An excursion…,” Camilla was clearly thinking as she spoke, “how _long_ an excursion?”_ _

__“Just a day trip, my dear.”_ _

__“With just you for company?”_ _

__“No, no, my dear,” Minos said hastily, “that would not be proper - with the companions of your choice. We could perhaps take…,” he too was thinking as he spoke, “as many as would fill your boat.”_ _

__“Then I accept,” said Camilla, smiling for the first time. “My friends and I will meet you here at first light.”_ _

__Minos reported optimistically back to Rhadamanthus. Had not all this trouble begun because Camilla was lonely for companionship? He took her mention of friends as a hopeful sign that she was finally settling in. Rhadamanthus was not convinced, but Minos reminded himself that his brother had always been more prone to doubt than himself. This was not the time for contemplation and study; this was the time for action. And he was just the man to do it._ _

__Inwardly, however, Minos owned to a few doubts himself when he saw the throng on Camilla’s magnificent trireme the next morning. She seemed to be accompanied by half of Elysium. Hadn’t Rhadamanthus said she had a little boat?_ _

__“I swapped that one last month with Achilles,” she explained. “He wanted a little runabout to use with Hector and gave me one of the Myrmidons’ old warships in its place.”_ _

__Minos took note neither hero of the Trojan War had taken passage, although other great men jostled his elbow as he piloted the vessel, eager for a glimpse of the dark shores of the Underworld. They seemed in good spirits though, not put off by the deepening gloom as the ship docked at the far side of the Styx. Disembarkation was to a dank, chilly Underworld; Proserpina had begun her sojourn in the land of the living a month before, and the usual general malaise and depression had set in within a matter of hours of her departure._ _

__The arrival of the ship had attracted considerable attention and the landing slip was crowded with gawking shades. Charon’s little boat made its crossing back and forth several times a day, normally unremarked, disgorging one or two passengers at a time (except in times of war when several hundred might arrive at the end of a bloody battle). But a large ship, powered by oars manned by heroes and the sons of Zeus, coming from sunny Elysium? This was an event not to be missed._ _

__The ship’s passengers clearly felt likewise. No sooner had Charon fitted the ramp than they flooded onto the shore, disappearing off in different directions. It was not what Minos had envisaged. When he had suggested this to his brother, he had planned a closely shepherded tour to carefully selected sites. Instead he was left behind on ship watch. As the day progressed, Dis sent him bread and olives from his own table. As evening fell, he was invited to join the royal banquet in a hastily erected marquee on shore, where he received a merry welcome, and was honoured to sit on the right hand of the god. By the light of torches Minos dined on venison and boar. Dessert was pomegranate compote, embellished with fresh cream._ _

__“Do try a little,” Dis offered cordially. “We are famous for our fruit.”_ _

__The meal concluded with performances by famous poets before thanks were given with a libation to the gods, and Minos began rounding up his party to make the journey home to Elysium. Camilla made no objection or delay to their casting off. Quite the contrary, she was first on board and talked animatedly to Minos about the sights she had seen during her brief stay, seemingly much impressed by the fiery Phlegethon and many-headed Hydra. She described Tisiphone as ‘charming’, which surprised Minos but when he asked further, simply said they had debated ethics and found they agreed on key matters. Predictably, she was scathing in her view of Ixion. Minos congratulated himself that his plan had served its purpose. Camilla seemed more than content now. He continued in this happy belief until disembarkation on the shores of Elysium._ _

__Two hundred shades had embarked on the excursion; two hundred had returned. Minos had made sure of that, counting as they boarded at the shores of the Styx. But he had been distracted by Camilla’s chatter and not noticed how many were different. The newcomers had passed swiftly down to the oars while Minos had remained on the upper deck to pilot. Now, he watched in dismay as Penthesilea disembarked, along with Patroclus, both cordially greeted by Hector and Achilles before being ushered to a small boat._ _

__“Not Andromache?”_ _

__“She remarried,” replied Camilla calmly._ _

__Minos shrugged his acceptance of that, but protested when he spied forty-nine Danaides waving from the prow to their sister who waved excitedly back from shore._ _

__“How…?”_ _

__Camilla smiled. “It just took a little _adjustment_ in Tisiphone’s thinking,” she explained, “from seeing them as murderesses, to understanding they had only honoured their father by obeying his commands, as, of course, all good daughters should. It was hardly their fault he was a two-timing cheat.” _ _

__Minos blinked at this reinterpretation._ _

__“Of course, I could not bring the rest without finding my own dear companions,” Camilla said as she introduced Larina, Tulla and Tarpeia to him, before herself disembarking._ _

__The next morning, Aeacus visited the shores of Oceanus to find Camilla at javelin practice with her companions. She laughed as she congratulated Tarpeia on hitting her target, and clapped her hands in glee when Larina subsequently split Tarpeia’s javelin in two. Aeacus watched her in sword practice with her friend Turnus; they were very evenly matched in terms of skill. However, Aeacus rather thought she had the cooler head, and in the end Turnus conceded the match to her prowess after he stumbled and fell and she held her sword point to his throat. Generous in victory, she held out a hand to help her friend to his feet and dusted him down, before testing her prowess with the bow and arrow against Tulla. She looked poised and purposeful and wholly engrossed on the exercise ground. Aeacus thought no one would question whether Camilla was happy now._ _

__“You’re new here,” Camilla remarked later, when she took a short break._ _

__“My brother judges are suffering from nervous exhaustion,” Aeacus replied, “so they are taking a much needed rest and I am here in their stead. You appear…contented, now.”_ _

__Camilla grinned. “You can tell Rhadamanthus he was right when he told me I needed to accept the choices I was given.”_ _

__“Oh?”_ _

__“Dedicated to Diana I was in life, and to a destiny of war and death in battle. Now, in the afterlife, I have rededicated myself, and my companions and I serve once again.”_ _

__Queen Camilla of Elysium took one final sip of water before returning to take her place on the practice field._ _

**Author's Note:**

> **Author’s Notes:**
> 
>  
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> 
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> 
> • Hypermnestra was one of the fifty Danaides whose father ordered them to kill their husbands on their wedding night. Hypermnestra refused because her husband honoured her wish to remain a virgin. The Danaides were punished in Tartarus by being forced to carry water through a jug with holes, or a sieve, so the water always leaked out. Hypermnestra, after giving up her famous virginity to help found the Argive dynasty, went to Elysium when she died. 
> 
> • Aeacus and the brothers Rhadamanthus and Minos were the three judges of the dead, noted for their probity and incorruptibility. They decided who was worthy of Elysium and who should be sent to Tartarus for punishment. In some sources, Rhadamanthus resides in Elysium while in others he resides in Tartarus. 
> 
> • Harmodius and Aristogeiton killed the Tyrant Hipparchus and became a symbol of democracy in Athens.
> 
> • Demosthenes was an Athenian statesman and orator and played a leading role in the Athenian revolt against Alexander the Great. 
> 
> • Dis was the original Roman god of the Underworld, later named Pluto. 
> 
> • In the Aeneid, Tartarus is surrounded by the flaming river Phlegethon and guarded by a many-headed hydra and Tisiphone, one of the Erinyes. 
> 
> • Ixion was punished for his uncontrolled lust by being tied to a winged flaming wheel that spun first in the sky, and then in Tartarus.
> 
> • Penthesilea was an Amazonian warrior princess who fought on the side of the Trojans. Andromache was married to Hector, widowed when Achilles killed him. After the fall of Troy, Neoptolemus made her his concubine and she gave birth to Pergamus. After Neoptolemus’ death, Andromache married Helenus and gave birth to Cestrinus.


End file.
